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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · march · leaves · patient · straw · ball · wake · wind

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. wind — moving air
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. march — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — the month
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wind — moving air
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com